Transportation library shelf

As the metropolitan planning organization (or MPO) for the Portland region, Metro is authorized by Congress and the State of Oregon to coordinate and plan investments in the transportation system for the three-county area. Metro uses this authority to expand transportation options, make the most of existing streets and improve public transit service.

Metro works collaboratively with cities, counties and transportation agencies to decide how to invest federal highway and public transit funds within its service area. It creates a long-range transportation plan, leads efforts to expand the public transit system and helps make strategic use of a small subset of transportation funding that Congress sends directly to MPOs.

Transportation news

The Metro Council unanimously endorsed the funding proposal Thursday, calling on the Legislature to approve a series of proposals from the Oregon Transportation Forum. Their proposals, among other things, calls for more money for road maintenance and multi-modal transportation expansion projects. To pay for the proposals, it calls for gas taxes that increase as cars get more efficient, and another unspecified gas tax increase. Oregon's gas tax is 30 cents per gallon.

Travelers entering Oregon City on the north end of town are now met by a welcoming gateway leaders have been envisioning for a decade.
As a $4 million renovation of McLoughlin wraps-up, Oregon City leaders are two steps closer to realizing their vision of a long-term enhancement plan for the boulevard throughout the city – with just one step yet to come.

Everyone who gets on a bus has to wait for that bus. Most have to walk to the stop, too. For over a decade, part of TriMet's strategy to make bus stops safer has included funds disbursed by Metro through its Regional Flexible Fund Allocations program.

It was a dynamic year in the Portland region. From groundbreaking climate plans, to agreements to open up access to a regional landmark, the past year had plenty of interesting events.
Here's a look at what made news at Metro in 2014.

What Metro found, while studying the mandate, was that simply building out locally-adopted land use and transportation plans would exceed that 20 percent mandate. Basically, plans already on the books would achieve the goals.

Planning should pay closer attention to those outcomes, veteran Bay Area transportation planner Dave Vautin told an audience of around 60 planners, health professionals, advocates and elected officials at Metro last week. In fact, Vautin said, planning should use those outcomes to directly guide decisions.

Whether your roots in the region run generations deep or you moved to Oregon last week, you have your own reasons for loving this place – and Metro wants to keep it that way. Help shape the future of the greater Portland region and discover tools, services and places that make life better today.